We are certainly not the first to realize that the big Indian brands are certainly interested in the European market and that what happens on the subcontinent often has links or repercussions with what we see or will see in our regions.
That’s why we’re reporting on the imminent debut in India of the Bajaj Pulsar 400: the Indian brand is closely linked to KTM both socially and industrially and also produces Triumph’s 400 models. In 2023, it sold more than 3.5 million vehicles, with the domestic market contributing greatly to its growth in recent years – a colossus that ranks fourth in the “world ranking” after Honda, Hero MotoCorp and Yamaha.
Bajaj’s Pulsar family is one of its best-sellers, a bit like the Apache for TVS just to make a comparison with one of its domestic competitors, and now the first water-cooled Pulsar is ready – it will be officially presented on May 3, the Pulsar NS400, although it is currently unclear whether the Pulsar 400 will be equipped with a 373 cc engine (the same as the Dominar 400 currently has) or with the new 390 cc platform, and it will be the Pulsar with the largest displacement, since until now the displacement of this family of models has stopped at 250 cc. Power should be around 40 hp, with a six-speed gearbox and equipment including LED lights, digital instrumentation with USB input, smartphone connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation.
The importance of this model – which is placed in the line-up just below the Dominar 400 – is that of an ever-increasing attitude towards increasing displacement and giving domestic users higher-performance bikes. Proposals like this are certainly one of the steps towards bringing the 350/400 cc segments closer together on the European and Indian lists, products are becoming increasingly global and we wouldn’t be surprised if a Bajaj product sooner or later made its appearance in Europe, even if there are no plans – for the time being – for the Pulsar 400 to reach our markets.